Two polls released last week show support for marijuana legalization hovering just under the 50% mark, with the American public split almost evenly on the issue. Both polls showed that support for marijuana legalization continues to trend upward.

A Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday had 45% in support, 45% opposed, and 10% undecided, while a Washington Post/ABC News poll released Wednesday had 48% in support, 50% opposed, and 2% undecided. The support figure in the latter poll rose one point to 49% when only registered voters were polled.

The polls come a week after two US states passed initiatives legalizing marijuana. Amendment 64 in Colorado and Initiative 502 in Washington both won with 55% of the vote. National polls have consistently show higher support for legalization in the West than in other regions of the country.

The Rasmussen poll showed support for legalization up five points since the firm last asked the question in 2009. It also found that 60% of respondents thought marijuana legalization was best left to the states, with only 27% saying the federal government should decide. And it found that fewer than out of ten (7%) think the US is "winning" the war on drugs, with 83% don't.

Both polls showed plurality support for marijuana legalization among all age groups except seniors. And both polls showed that the gender gap remains intact. Support for legalization was higher among men than women by 12 points in the Rasmussen poll and nine points in the Washington Post/ABC News poll.

The Rasmussen poll surveyed 1,000 adults nationwide on November 9 and 10 and has a margin of error of +/-3%. The Washington Post/ABC News poll surveyed 1,023 adults nationwide between November 7 and 11 and has a margin of error of +/-3.5%.

The reason this is significant and important is because a vast majority of the people who support legalization do NOT use marijuana. It's easy for propagandists to shake their heads and say it's only the drug users and profiteers who want legalization. But you'd be very hard pressed to argue that 50% of Americans use Marijuana. That idea is absurd. The amount of marijuana users in this country accounts for no where CLOSE to 50% of our population.

Yet 50% of all Americans support legalization!

So yes, a huge portion of those in favor are those who do not use Marijuana. At this point it becomes crystal clear that ending prohibition is the common-sense approach. It's not about being pro-pot, it's about accepting drug use as a public health issue and controlling and limiting the damage it can do by enacting strict regulations like we do for alcohol. This way we still limit the use of the drug, but we don't fight an unwinnable war trying to enforce an unenforceable law.

Another thing to consider: America is the #1 consumer of illegal drugs in the world. We support the illegal drug trade almost entirely by ourselves.. nothing the government has tried in the last 70 years or so has stopped this. Not harsh, unforgiving penalties. Not education. Not an endless stream of propaganda.

And now we have the Internet in the mix, which just spreads information that much more efficiently.

So I don't think any of these drug warriors in their right minds could argue that only potheads want legalization, I guess they're claiming that 50% of all Americans smoke pot then? Because multiple respected polls show 50% support, period, end of story.

The largest demographic in opposition were those 65 years and older. I wonder... what % of that demographic opposed allowing blacks to vote or to allow women to vote back when America faced those issues? Fact is, it's always been young activists , you know the new generation, that enacts these important social changes. Values change. Some are sick at heart that America is losing its way, but the fact of the matter is, if you were expecting life in 2012 to resemble life in 1945, you need a strong does of reality.

As a baby boomer now entering the "old person" demographic, I feel you raise an interesting point about whether this bloc will continue to oppose marijuana legalization. I was busted at 19 in college in 1971 for a state misdemeanor charge for pot and it has haunted my work career ever since. As my cohort retires, it is no longer worried about "the message to the kids" angle that IMO was the central weapon of the drug warriors. This BTW still resonates with women, which is why the dames oppose legalization much more than men.

But my self centered crowd will be looking for another drug besides alcohol that mitigates boredom, eases the aches and pains of aging and but carries far fewer negative side effects. Wonder what that might be?

As a baby boomer now entering the "old person" demographic, I feel you raise an interesting point about whether this bloc will continue to oppose marijuana legalization. I was busted at 19 in college in 1971 for a state misdemeanor charge for pot and it has haunted my work career ever since. As my cohort retires, it is no longer worried about "the message to the kids" angle that IMO was the central weapon of the drug warriors. This BTW still resonates with women, which is why the dames oppose legalization much more than men.

But my self centered crowd will be looking for another drug besides alcohol that mitigates boredom, eases the aches and pains of aging and but carries far fewer negative side effects. Wonder what that might be?

I'm a member of the older demographics. Fewer of us went through college in those days and thus the ones who did not proceed to through a higher education were more likely to remained brainwashed by members of a generation which was in no small part raised by folks from the nineteenth century. Think about it.

I've always thought the way you do, but too much freedom was feared by the generations before me, extremely God fearing folks, in order to protect us from the fires of hell for our own good.

Freedom of choice is what it's all about.

P.S. Huffing gasoline out of the tank can get you high. Absolutely not a smart choice, but legal and widely available... and a choice

Here is the truth. Everybody wants to legalize marijuana. But many are divided over the details of it. The current laws are too easy to for the kids to get marijuana and smoke it when they are really young. This should be changed. artsupply.com

Legalize!!! If Mari.. was legal, anybody could grow it in back yard and criminals would be out of business, price would drop below what cigarettes cost and Harpers superjails could be turned to homeless shelters. Just remove locks and guards. tery